Hitherto, there have been known endoscope devices with which a fluorescent material having affinity for diseased tissue, such as cancer, is introduced in advance into the body of a subject under examination, and excitation light that excites the fluorescent material is radiated to detect fluorescence from the fluorescent material accumulated in diseased tissue (see Patent Document 1).
According to Patent Document 1, a plurality of fluorescence wavelengths in a near infrared wavelength region is detected by a wired endoscope device, and functions equivalent to those of the wired endoscope device are employed in a wireless capsule endoscope by using a plurality of light-emitting elements with different wavelengths, such as LEDs.
Usually, a capsule endoscope is swallowed through the mouth of a subject for inspection, and then sequentially captures images while moving in the body cavity by means of peristalsis until it is naturally evacuated. While the capsule endoscope moves in the body cavity, image data captured in the body by the capsule endoscope is transmitted to the outside by wireless communication or the like and is stored in a memory provided outside. Then, after the capsule endoscope is evacuated, images of organs based on the image data stored in the memory are displayed on the display to perform diagnosis.
Patent Document 1:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-25802